


Stars

by happyaspie



Series: Tony Stark is a Good Mentor [51]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Parent-Child Relationship, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Sick Character, Sick Peter Parker, Sickfic, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor, Vomiting, Worried Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24051472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: Peter is home alone and absolutely miserable with a sore throat and a horrible earache.  After some debate, he decides he can no longer function without someone there to give him some support.  He calls Tony in for an assist.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark is a Good Mentor [51]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1397362
Comments: 28
Kudos: 409





	Stars

Peter woke up tangled in his sheets and shivering. There was a thin sheen of sweat uncomfortably coating his body and his throat felt as though he had swallowed battery acid. On top of that, there was so much pressure in his right ear that he was sure his eardrum would burst at any moment. To put it lightly, he was miserable. The worst part was that he was alone. 

May had left for a conference in Chicago two days prior. He'd felt off when he'd kissed her good-bye but he didn't even consider that anything to her. The trip had been planned months in advance and by attending she would be setting herself up for promotion. It was important. Of course, at the time, he'd not realized that the itch in the back of his throat would morph into a relentless burn in less than forty-eight hours. 

He'd tried drinking warm tea but the soothing effect never lasted past the final sip; Ice water hadn't worked any better. He'd also tried some over the counter pain medication but hadn't even begun to touch the sting in his throat or the pain in his ear. He supposed that was to be expected. His metabolism burned right through it. Even the eight-hour, time-release tablets didn't even begin have time to start working before his body rid itself of the chemicals meant to be serving him. Home remedies had been just as useless and eventually, he'd given up and put himself to bed by eight. Sleeping through the worst of it seemed reasonable and despite all signs pointing towards an impending disaster, he'd been sure his healing factor would take care of it. 

That had obviously not worked out for him. There he was, wide awake at one in the morning, trying not to cry. A painful lump formed in his throat as a result and attempting to swallow it back made him flinch. More tears rolled down his cheeks as he reached for his phone so that he could call Tony. If for no other reason than to banish the loneliness that was creeping in. With any luck, the man would be on one of his late-night lab binges and be able to answer. As petulant as it may be, he longed for someone to hold him just make _feel better._

He hit the familiar contact and was filled with relief when he heard the comforting sound of Tony's voice greet him. "Hey, kiddo. How's your lawless lack of parental supervision going?" the man cheerily teased, assuming that his young mentee was taking advantage of his freedom by staying up until dawn. 

Not having the capacity to keep up with the playful banter, Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't feel good," he pathetically replied, choosing to get right to the point. He was worried that if he didn't get those words out of his mouth first thing, they would get lost and he'd never say them at all. 

Having been caught slightly off guard by the raspy admission, Tony paused. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he'd answered the early morning call but hearing the kid say that he was sick wasn't it. "Oh," he replied after a beat. Then suddenly he realized that the teenager, who had an independent streak the size of Texas, wouldn't be calling him unless he felt absolutely terrible. "Do you need me to come over there?"

In Peter's fuzzy head, that sounded like a trick question. He desperately wanted Tony to come but at the same time, he didn't want to be the cause of any disruption. He was well aware of the hour and knew that the man was probably in the middle of something important. When the confusing thoughts became too much, he scrubbed his hands over his face. He was a hairsbreadth away from bursting into tears. "I don't know," he finally croaked, then sucking in a shaky breath. 

"Well, why don't you tell me what's going on? Then we can decide from there." Tony said even though he'd already made his decision. He was already gesturing for FRIDAY to close up the shop for him so that he could go take care of his sick kid.

"My throat's sore and my ear hurts" Peter replied, only listing the two major culprits. He didn't feel the need to mention that he was sure he had a fever, that he'd had a dull headache for days, or that he was starting to get a little nauseous. Those things were all manageable at the moment. 

Tony hummed in response. He was sure there was more to it but that was enough to go on. "You probably need some of your super drugs. I'm coming, alright, Buddy?"

There was a small part of Peter that wanted to politely protest the offer but the majority of him was so grateful that someone was coming that the tears he'd been fighting back finally started to fall. He wanted to say 'thank you' but the only thing he could pull past his lips was a meager "Okay."

"I'm going to be there in fifteen minutes, Kiddo. Hang in there, alright?" Tony said as he stepped into the Iron Man armor. That was his fastest route there. Driving would take over half an hour, even if the roads were empty.

Peter responded with another quiet 'okay' and then lay his head back down onto his pillow, whining when the horizontal position caused another sharp pain to shoot through his ear. Once he'd found a more comfortable position, he pulled the multitude of blankets he'd pilled on his bed earlier in the evening up to his chin and squeezed his eyes shut, willing time to go faster. 

When Tony walked into the Parker's little apartment, he'd half expected to find the kid waiting for him on the couch but he was met with a dark room. He made his way to Peter's room and paused outside the half-open door. There was just enough light flooding in from the dimly lit hallway for him to see Peter's sleeping form. Though it didn't look restful. Even in sleep, the kid's face was tight with discomfort.

Smiling fondly, Tony crossed the room and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hey, Kid. I need you to wake up for me" he said quietly and was met with two big brown eyes blinking back at him. 

"Mis'er S'ark?" Peter groggily inquired as he squinted his eyes, trying to focus on his mentor's smiling face.

"The one and only" Tony softly replied, moving his hand from the teenager's shoulder to his forehead and then down to the back of his neck. He was more than a little warm. Heat was practically radiating off of him. "Have you got a thermometer around here?" he asked with concern. Peter shrugged his shoulders. Tony took that as an 'I don't know' and moved on. "Have you eaten anything?"

"Not hungry" Peter replied without missing a beat. He knew where that question was going and he knew that the man wouldn't like his answer. He'd nothing but a cup of jello and stray popsicle that he'd found in the back of the freezer all day. He'd considered making some ramen noodles at one point had decided against it when nausea had started to set in.

"When was the last time you drank something?" Tony further inquired as he tried to assess what he needed to do to get the kid more comfortable. Not eating wasn't great but not drinking would lead to a whole new set of problems. Though when it sounded like the only thing the boy had taken in was a cup of hot tea, sometime in the late afternoon he sighed. "What about water?" 

"It hurts," Peter replied with a frown. Everything hurt. Warm, cold, it didn't matter, even swallowing his own spit hurt. He'd taken to open-mouth breathing in an effort to delay the need to do so.

Tony nodded his head, pulled an orange-tinted bottle out of his jacket pocket, and set it down on the bedside table. "Alright, I brought some of you some of your medicine but I'd feel better if you ate something with it" he said and watched as Peter nodded his head. He could count the number of words the boy had said since he's walked in on his hands. He couldn't remember a time the kid had ever been that quiet. "Man of very few words this evening, huh?" he gently teased and was met with another shrug of the shoulders.

The parker's kitchen was rather small and as such, it wasn't very well stocked. There seemed to be just enough to get by for a handful of days and not much there to suit the needs of a miserably sick teenager. Though after some digging, Tony managed to find a can of condensed chicken soup with tiny star-shaped pasta in it. He smiled at the packaging. It was cute. 

It didn't take long for him to read through the microwave instructions and was quickly returning to Peter's room with a steaming bowl in one hand and a glass of ice water in the other. "There you go, Buddy. I'd like for you to drink all of that water but just try to eat as much of the soup as you can, okay?" he said, as he helped the listless boy sit up against the headboard. 

Peter took his time sipping at the water and taking tentative bites of the soup in between. He tried to finish it but after getting about halfway through the portion he could no longer force himself to push past the burn in his throat as he ate. Between that and the white-hot, stabbing pain that was periodically striking his eardrum, all he wanted to do was to take some medicine and go to sleep. At least when he was asleep he couldn't feel it. 

After taking the bowl from Peter's hands, Tony handed over two tablets and a freshly refilled glass of water. Peter took them and then lay his head down, making the ache in his ear worse. Then, before he could stop himself he was childishly complaining. "My ear _really_ hurts, Mr. Stark," he whined. The pressure was nearing unbearable. 

Smiling softly, Tony placed his hand on the side of Peter's face, rubbing his thumb up and down over his cheekbone. "I know, Buddy," he said with sympathy and then stepped out, returning moments later with a folded up, warm washcloth. "Here, hold this to your ear, okay?" he instructed.

Peter dubiously accepted the warm cloth, placed it as instructed, and was happily surprised that it seemed to help. "Thanks," he whispered, already starting to relax but when Tony nodded his head and turned to walk out of the room he sat up again. "Are you leaving now?" he asked, trying his hardest to hide the trepidation that was trying to creep into his tone. He wasn't ready to go back to being alone just yet.

"I'm not leaving, Pete. You're going to go to sleep and I'm going to go sit on the couch. You can call me if you need me," Tony returned and then waited for the boy to put his head back down before quietly exiting the room. 

While Tony leaned back on the couch with the intention of closing his eyes for a little while, Peter lay in his bed attempting to convince himself that his stomach wasn't any more upset than it had been prior to eating. He tried to tell himself that he was just over-tired and that if he just closed his eyes, the queasiness would subside but it didn't. Eventually, he had no choice but to sit up and dart towards the hall bathroom where he dropped to his knees just in time to painfully bring up the soup and probably the medication along with it. He was just leaning in for a round two when he felt a heavy hand on his back. "You're alright, Kiddo. You're okay," he heard Tony's deep voice soothing. 

It was then that Peter realized that he was crying. Not that his eyes were watering but that he was full-on sobbing between gags. He felt Tony kneel behind him and couldn't stop himself from leaning back onto his chest when his stomach finally decided that it really was empty. "I'm sorry," he rasped, his throat tight and burning, it felt like he'd thrown up shards of glass instead of soup. 

  
"You don't have to apologize for being sick, Buddy. It happens" Tony said as he urged the boy to sit up so that he could get him a cup of water and some tissues to wipe his mouth off. Once he'd handed the items over, he returned to his place on the floor. He was sure his back and knees would hate him for it later but it was for Peter and therefore it would be worth it.

Peter took a swig of water, swished it around in his mouth and then spat it back out into the toilet before slumping back against Tony's chest. "There were stars," exhaustedly mumbled. 

Took waited for several seconds for one of two things to happen. One, for that sentence to process and make sense or two, for the kid to continue to explain what on Earth he was talking about. When neither one of those things happened he shook his head. "Come again?"

"Stars, Mr. Stark I threw up stars," Peter explained as if that should have been obvious. He didn't know why he felt the need to share that information but for whatever reason, he'd found it amusing, and apparently he had no internal monologue at the moment. The observations had fallen right out of his mouth without ever considering that maybe that was too much information _and probably really gross._

Now laughing fully, Tony gave the boy a gentle squeeze. "Stars, huh?" he repeated, with a smile even though part of him was extremely worried about how out of it the kid seemed. He was starting to wonder if he should be taking the kid back to the tower with him for a quick check-up Just to make sure nothing serious was going on. However, the boy looked so tired that he decided against it for the time being. He could reevaluate in the morning after they had both gotten some rest. 

"Alright, Galileo, do you think you're done?" Tony asked because it looked like the boy was about to fall asleep right there on the bathroom floor. When Peter nodded his head, he stood them both up and started walking towards the kid's bedroom. "Well, let's get you to bed then."

The walk to Peter's bedroom couldn't have been more than fifteen steps. It was just across the hall. Even so, it took some time for Peter to convince his legs to move. He was still feverishly sore and sluggish. He couldn't stop the sigh that escaped him as he fell down onto his mattress. "Don't get too comfy there, kiddo. We're going to have to re-dose those fever reducers," he heard the man say just as he was starting to melt into his comforter.

"-but I'm tired," Peter mumbled, watching with one eye open as Tony popped the lid off of the pill bottle and tapped two more tablets into his hand. He thanked the man, all the same, and swallowed them down with what little water remained in his cup from earlier and then lay back down. 

"You can thank me by keeping those down. I only brought a few doses with me," Tony said with a smirk that faded into something softer as he noticed that the boy had brought his hand up to his ear, looking as though he was relentlessly trying to rub the ache out of it. "You want me to rewarm that washcloth for you?" he gently inquired. He'd already been calculating what he would need to get the kid comfortably settled in for the rest of the night. When Peter nodded his head, he stepped out.

It took a few minutes for Tony to acquire the handful of items he thought the kid might need and walked back into the room with his arms full. He bustled around for a moment as he placed everything within reach and, on an impulse, ran his hand through the boy's hair under the guise of further evaluating his temperature. Peter seemed to know that wasn't the case as he leaned into his palm and smiled. Tony drew his hand back after a few seconds and sighed. "Alright. You've had more medicine, you've got your warm cloth, I put a bucket beside the bed and a cup of water on your nightstand. You need anything else?"

"I'm okay," Peter breathily replied, followed by a small yawn that made his eyes water. "Thank you, Mr. Stark"

"You're welcome, Buddy," Tony said and was about to walk out of the room when he spotted and framed picture of May on the kid's desk, bringing her to mind for the first time since he'd arrived. He really needed to call her later. "I should probably call your aunt once the sun comes up. When is she supposed to get home?"

Peter wrinkled his brow and tried to think. The last few days had all run together and his fever riddled brain couldn't seem to organize its self enough to answer the question. "What day is it?" he asked in utter confusion, frowning when Tony started chuckling.

"Technically? It's Monday," Tony eventually returned with a smile. 

That made sense. The last time he'd thought about what day it was had been Saturday, and he only realized that because Ned had texted him about a new episode of the sci-fi cartoon they'd been watching. Then the significance of the day hit him. "Oh. She's supposed to be home sometime today-", he said, pausing to clear his aching throat, "-I guess I probably should have just sucked it up and not bothered you." It occurred to him that he probably should have checked the date before he'd called his mentor. Though he wasn't sure it would have changed his course. He'd been miserable. 

Tony smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. "You're not bothering me, Pete," he said and then smiled at the boy with a mirthful twinkle in his eye. "Besides, if you hadn't called me, I would have completely missed out on the opportunity to see you barf up a solar system and that would have been a _tragedy_ ," he proclaimed, considering it a win when the kid laughed in response. "I'll hang out until she gets back. Try to get some sleep, kiddo. I'll be in the living room."

Several hours later, May cracked the door open to find Tony sound asleep, sprawled out across the length of the couch with his socked feet hanging over the armrest. She shook her head at the unexpected sight and then went to check on her nephew, wondering what could have possibly happened that would lead to Tony Stark sleeping in her living room. 

As she walked into Peter's open door she saw the bucket by the bed and the bottle of medicine on the nightstand. At that point, it all came together and she smiled to herself, watching her nephew's chest rise and fall a few more times before going to make some coffee. It had been a long trip and despite the fact that it was nearly lunchtime, she needed to caffeine and assumed that the unanticipated guest would want some too. 

The rattle of the old coffee maker combined with the scent of freshly brewed coffee pulled Tony from his sleep with a yawn. Once he was sitting he ran his hands down his face and turned towards the kitchen, finding May standing there smiling at him. "Oh. Hi May," he tiredly greeted. "How long have you been here?"

May continued to fill the two coffee mugs she'd pulled out of the cupboard and sat down beside Tony. "Long enough to know that you must have a had a long night," he chuckled, placing the warm mug into the man's waiting hands. "When did he get sick?"

Tony took a sip of the surprisingly good coffee and shook his head. "Dunno. He called me in the middle of the night with a sore throat and an earache. I was going to text you when I woke up. Must've slept in," he replied. He'd never asked the kid when he started feeling bad. He'd been solely focused on fixing him.

"That makes sense," May returned. "He can deal with a stab wound without ever batting an eye but when he gets sick all the tough-guy stuff goes out the window."

Then it was Tony turn to chuckle. He'd not considered that but now that May had siad it, she was right. The kid was definitely far needier with a fever than he was with a Spider-man induced injury. "Yeah, well, hopefully, he'll feel a little better when he wakes up. If not, I want to take him to medical to get checked out. He might need some antibiotics or something. Better safe than sorry and whatnot," he said offhandedly spoke before realizing that May was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "What?"

"Nothing," May said with a vigorous shake of her head. "I was just thinking."

Tony's brows came together in question. "About what?" 

For a second or two, May continued to smile reminiscently in Tony's direction. "I was thinking about Ben," she eventually admitted. "He used to get that same look on his face whenever Peter got so much as a little cold," She added, taking a deep breath after. It was nice to see someone else taking such an interest in her nephew's wellbeing. "You're worried about him... and _it's sweet_. He needs someone else to look after him and fuss over him every now and then. Thank you for that. Thank you for taking such good care of him."

The room grew quiet for a beat as Tony considered the implications of May's grateful musings. He knew she'd not been super fond of him in the beginning but they'd since settled their differences. Mostly because of Peter. The kid was a peacemaker, it was his gift. "Thank you for letting me," he finally whispered and after a few more seconds of silence, he decided that he'd already hit his quota for emotional conversations for the day. That leading him to rapidly stand up with a clap fo his hands. "Alrighty. On that note, I'm going to go check on the kid."

May laughed at the drastic change in the atmosphere and stood up to follow, saying, "I'm right behind you," smiling the whole time. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos! Comment! -and come see me on tumblr! [happyaspie](https://yes-i-am-happyaspie.tumblr.com/)


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